There can be no question that 2012 was a bumper year for healthcare IT. The sheer volume and size of investments was enormous. Fast-forward a few months and the pace doesn't seem to be slowing. In February alone, there were over 30 deals closed for a total of $107.95 million invested. This represents twice the deal volume of the same time last year.

The glitterati of the tech world are once again descending on a chilly Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Over the next few days, reports of the latest smartphones, tablets and netbooks will flood RSS feeds and whet the industry’s appetite for the latest must have gadgets. Of course, most of these new devices are geared towards one thing – driving data demand.

To anyone who thought the furore over net neutrality was quietening to a gentle murmur, recent events on both sides of the Atlantic have once again brought the debate into sharp focus. Many within the industry are now starting to question whether the open Internet will soon become a two-tier service dominated by traffic management. At this stage, the diagnosis for an open Internet doesn’t look promising.